Parenting in Japan 広島親子

Is Being Bilingual Enough?

2013-02-13T11:12:00.002+09:00

Bilingual Japanese Classroom- some teachers work hard at it Today as I was walking into the Hiroshima YMCA's Kindergarden- an English immersion pre-school, which has an after-school program in Japanese- I noticed that the father in front of us was counting in Chinese with his toddlers as they alighted each step. I realized that these kids are trilingual. Once they said good-bye to dad in

Meet Santa Event, International Education & Studying Abroad

2012-12-09T09:42:00.000+09:00

This year we tried a new event to help promote the Hiroshima international school in the city center. I came up with the idea and suggested it to the PTA at the school who then worked hard to put the event together in a short time. It was a fun event with live music (by HIS teacher Wayne B and other teachers and parents in the band), visits and pictures with Santa, free cookies, balloons and

GetHiroshima Family Halloween Picnic

2012-09-25T16:04:00.001+09:00

Please join us on Sunday, October 28th in Shin-Ushita-koen Park next to Higashi-ku Sports Center (Big Wave) to enjoy potluck lunch, Halloween games and costumed fun. Check out the Photos of the 2011 GetHiroshima Family Halloween party or Photos of the 2009 & 2010 Family Halloween parties to see all the fun from previous year's events. We will be setting up the potluck, mats and tents from

October Playdate at the Transport Museum

2012-09-25T15:15:00.002+09:00

Our next Hiroshima international playdate (HIP) will be on Monday (national holiday) October 8th from 11am at the Crazy bikes area of the Hiroshima city's Transport Museum in Asa-minami-ku. Please bring a lunch to eat together. Looking forward to seeing you there! Join the Hiroshima International Playdate Group on Facebook See more about the Hiroshima city Transport Museum on its official

HIS trick or treating Event along Hondori Arcade

2012-09-24T07:03:00.000+09:00

Hiroshima International School (HIS) is hosting their annual trick or treat event, this year again along Hondori shopping arcade on Saturday, October 27th in the early evening. It was great fun last year! If you want to join, sign your kids up soon through HIS (the PDF is: http://www.hiroshima-is.ac.jp/uploads/1213/HalloweenApplicationEnglish.pdf) Also, the main desk 1F at the YMCA also

Parenting & Life Lessons from "Into the Wild"

2012-05-13T18:55:00.000+09:00

Grassmoor, Lake District UK Just finished Jon Krakauer's book "Into the Wild" about young Christopher J McCandless' adventure and tragedy. If you haven't yet read it, or seen the movie, it is a very well written and interesting, haunting tale of a young person's passion for independence and the many lives he touched along his journey. But it also offers many subtle pointers on issues of

Easter Egg Hunt & Hanami Playdate

2012-03-14T12:41:00.002+09:00

April 8th Sunday 11-2 Join us if you are free for a playdate including Easter egg hunt and hanami picnic lunch under the cherry blossom at Senda park (next to Naka-ku sports center) from 11am-2pm. We will plan on doing the egg hunt after lunch around 1pm. Please bring some small bags of treats, colored eggs or plastic eggs with candy inside to use in the Easter Egg hunt. Hope to see you then

Playdate in Senda Park

2012-02-19T09:25:00.000+09:00

We will have the playdate Sunday 3/11 from 10-2 at Senda Park - please join us if you are free! The next international playdate will be held at the Senda Park (next to the Naka-ku sports center) We are hoping for good weather for the next playdate on March 4th, we will be at the Senda-machi roller park (next to the Naka-ku sports center) from 10am-12 (if its warm enough we will hang around

Fun January Events for Kids in Hiroshima

2011-12-19T14:09:00.001+09:00

A lot of things are closed all over Japan as families gather together celebrating the passing of another year. There are some great ways to enjoy this family time in Hiroshima if you are hanging around. January 1st New Year's Day It is the Japanese tradition to visit a Shrine on New Year's day to pray for another good year in life. Even if you are not Japanese and do not know anything about

Japanese Encephalitis in Japan

2011-12-06T15:56:00.001+09:00

According to the CDC, Japanese Encephalitis (日本脳炎, Nihon-nōen) is a problem for all areas of Asia, especially if people are around pigs or birds in water and recommended for all travelers who will reside in rural areas in Asia for longer than 1 year. According to the local ward office staff and our local pediatrician, there were a few cases in the Chugoku area again this year. The Japanese

Christmas Present Drive for Tohoku Kids

2011-12-04T20:17:00.001+09:00

Photos of Rikuzen Takata Devastation @Ikuru Kuwajima Let’s bring a bit of Christmas cheer to the children of Rikuzentakata, Tohoku! This area was particularly hard hit by this year's Tsunami devastation on March 11, 2011. The children in the area would be so encouraged and excited to receive a Christmas present to raise their spirits. The volunteer group, "Aki-Rikuzentakata Dream Support

Playdate at Hiroshima Transportation Museum 12/4/2011

2011-11-25T08:43:00.001+09:00

Hiroshima Transporation Museum We are planning to have the next HIP get-together -first Sunday of December- at the transport museum in Asa-minami ku- we will be there from 10-12 and then be going somewhere nearby to get some lunch. Hope to see you there! Information : http://www.vehicle.city.hiroshima.jp/ Access: By Astram: Take the Astram bound for Koiki Koen Mae and get off at

GetHiroshima Family Christmas Party

2011-11-08T08:32:00.000+09:00

Once again this year we are organizing a family-friendly Christmas party on Friday, December 23rd (National Holiday) from 12 noon-4pm Many people make a break at Christmas time to head home to be with family, but we will be here this year so we will be putting together a GetHiroshima Kids & Family Christmas party at Southern Cross on the national holiday- December 23rd, 2010 from 12pm to 4pm.**

Growing up doesn't necessarily make you any better at stuff...

2011-11-08T07:18:00.000+09:00

This morning as I rip the milk carton for the millionth time in my life as I try to open it and end up once again looking for the butter knife to stick into the half-ripped-off end to retain some semblance of a pouring function- I am reminded that despite my years I am still no expert at this. I see my kids struggling with stuff as they are growing up and I tell them it gets easier the more

Video and Pictures of 10/31/2011 GetHiroshima Kids Halloween Party

2011-11-01T14:12:00.002+09:00

Thank you to everyone who came out on Halloween night - it was a lot of fun! Next year we will plan to do the party again on the last Sunday of October in Sorazaya park, please join us! GetHiroshima Family Halloween Party in Sorazaya Park 10/31, a set on Flickr.Thanks for everyone who made it out to the park on the 31st despite it being a school and work night! We played some games, ate

GetHiroshima Family Halloween Party in the Park

2011-10-04T16:58:00.011+09:00

** 10/30 sorry we had to cancel today (Sunday) because of the weather- please join us on Halloween afternoon 10/31 in the same place (Sorazaya-koen) from 4:30 for some games, costume parade, snack potluck and family fun ** Activities apples on strings..... walk the plank (balance game).... bouncy pumpkin race... bashing pinatas.... spooky ring toss.... treasure hunt ..... spooky snacks to eat ..

Great Halloween Party Games, Lessons and Craft Ideas

2011-10-01T08:39:00.000+09:00

Halloween is coming up in a few weeks, time to get planning for fun parties and lessons. Here are some great resources and ideas to get your inspired for your classes and spooky get-togethers this year. This website- Supersimplesongs.com has lots of fun games and activities to enjoy at Kids Halloween parties and for special Halloween lessons. I love this "Walk the Plank" game (which you will see

October 2nd Playdate at the Miyajima Aquarium

2011-09-16T06:20:00.000+09:00

Miyajima's Aquarium has had a facelift and has recently reopened:http://www.miyajima-aqua.jp/ In October, they also have a "Trick Art: magic painting" exhibition which looks really fun to take pictures with while we are there- you can make it look like a shark is jumping out to bite you :) We will plan to arrive at the Aquarium by 10am (doors open at 9am if you want to go earlier) - we will

UNICEF update: 12,000 fewer children perish daily in 2010 than in 1990

2011-09-16T04:05:00.001+09:00

Received a wonderful update from UNICEF in the following article, there has been some progress made but there is still so many children dying around the globe from problems which are completely treatable. If you can, donate to UNICEF to further help their efforts to help the world's most vulnerable people. NEW YORK/GENEVA, 15 September 2011 – The number of children under five years of age

2011-08-15T17:40:00.000+09:00

It has been 5 months now since the March 11th Earthquake and Tsunami that wiped out many homes, communities and infrastructure in the Tohoku area of Northern Japan. As the search for loved ones has ended and the weekend of Obon and remembering the many dead and lost has passed, it is time for many organisations to move onto how to help the living. One of the most vulnerable groups are the

Child Supermodels- Exploited or Living the Dream?

2011-08-14T10:42:00.003+09:00

Love the Funny Face Today's Times had an article on whether the fashion industry has overstepped by hiring a 10 year old supermodel, but is it so different than what has been going on for many years? Is this really something new? We have always had kids as movie stars- Drew Barrymore was super cute in ET at the age of 4, it was probably a lot less glamorous then being dressed up in

Elementary school in America- Rules, Regulations and Safety

2011-07-28T05:15:00.002+09:00

Japanese Elementary School Classroom Having grown up in the states myself, now raising our kids going to Japanese public schools, I never realized until now how completely different the two systems really are. Yesterday was registration day and setting our kid up with his supplies in his classroom. It was a fun, albeit hectic, day of running around looking for all the supplies on the list. A

Problems with English Curriculum in Japanese schools

2011-07-22T07:57:00.002+09:00

Our 3 grade elementary kid has come home with his ローマ字の表 Romanji (Roman letters) Study Chart as they are going to start learning English in the second semester. Working with high school and university students for many years, I see so many students who cannot spell unfamiliar words or even sound them out when reading. This is, I have concluded once seeing the textbooks and observed classes, due

Cold Noodle Fun in Summer

2011-07-05T10:52:00.000+09:00

In Japan, there is a great culture of eating a variety of noodles cold in the hot, summer months- which of course kids adore, are fun to eat and are also usually meat-free meals. Zaru-Soba @art4.photozou.jp Zaru-soba ざるそば The brown buckwheat noodles are cool and delicious, served in layers in a box on a bamboo mat and if you order the large portion "Omori" then you will have another layer of

Today at PIIC & Upcoming Playdates

2011-07-03T08:18:00.001+09:00

PIIC Well meet at the 1st floor of the PIIC center in Ushita for our usualy play and potluck without the park play today since it is so rainy, hope you can join us! We'll be there from around 11:30 to have some indoor play, watch a movie and share some food (maybe get a nice coffee upstairs too) --------------- Tsutsumigaura Beach The next playdate won't be till October as we are busy on